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'Million Dollar Listing’ first female broker on how to prevent buyer’s remorse

Women dominate the real estate industry, but you may think otherwise if you tune into Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles. Tracy Tutor, a top agent at Douglas Elliman California, joined the cast of the hit Bravo TV show back in 2017 as the first and only female realtor on the show.

Though women are often stereotyped as being weaker negotiators than men, women actually make up 63% of all realtors in the United States. Tutor says women can be “soft and femine,” but then quickly switch gears to close the deal and “get down to brass tacks.”

“We [women] totally have the ability to bring love and warmth and emotion into a home,” Tutor told Yahoo Finance. “And I think we’re also … good negotiators because we have the ability to be both soft and hard.”

Housing market remains ‘steady’

“Last year was a bit of a mess,” Tutor told Yahoo Finance’s YFi AM. “I think for everyone … We saw prices in New York slipping, usually the L.A. market follows.”

Tutor doesn’t see a long-term decline in the housing market. Instead, she’s hopeful it will remain “steady.”

“The market softens, it’s not tanking, buyers are still out there, but the luxury market over $10 million has definitely slowed down a bit,” she said.

Josh Altman, Tutor’s co-star on the show, shares her outlook.

“There’s going to be a lot of amazing opportunities for buyers over the next 24 months,” Altman told Yahoo Finance. “I’d like to be cash heavy right now and sit on the sidelines for a little bit, but there’s still a lot of great opportunity and still big money coming in…It’s going to be an interesting year.’

Avoid being ‘house poor’

One of the age groups Tutor finds promising is millennials, saying they’re her “biggest buyers.” She also admitted that she is baffled by a recent Bankrate Survey that 63% of millennial homeowners have buyer’s remorse.

Millennial homeowners “say a lot for real estate,” Tutor said. “These young people, getting out there and purchasing their first massive asset.”

But Tutor warns that first-time homebuyers watch their overall finances and make sure they can afford what they’re buying. “The goal should be not to throw your money away. That’s important for young buyers... we have to take control of our own destiny financially and that starts in your 20’s,” Tutor says.

Real estate is ‘not a team sport’

Although both Tutor and Altman co-star in the reality TV show, Tutor wants to be clear the real estate industry is ‘not a team sport.’

‘It’s really our opportunity, as women, to stand up, do your job,’ she said, ‘but have a voice and make sure you know what you’re talking about when you speak.’

Bravo might be facing some competition itself. Netflix (NFLX) recently announced an 8-episode series “Selling Sunset,” a docusoap featuring a group of female real estate agents trying to sell homes in West Hollywood and Sunset Strip.